In general, this invention relates to the fields of optical diffraction and biomarker detection.
Many biological molecules have been identified as biomarkers for the diagnosis of disease. Biomarkers of disease exist in biological fluids in the form of complexes, which are often heterogeneous in composition. The detection of these biomarker complexes and the determination of their composition often require large amounts of a biological sample in order to purify the complexes by traditional chromatographic means. In addition, traditional methodologies may require derivation of antibodies that are specific to the complexed or dissociated components of the biomarker complex.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for methods to detect, quantify, and characterize biomarkers and biomarker complexes for the detection and diagnosis of disease.